Summer School Fun

 We've had such fun gathering every Monday morning with our friends the Brame's and the Mattson's for school that Christine and I decided to keep it going during the summer.  Jen's days away from having #5 so she's opting out :)    We both feel that our girls need a deeper knowledge of phonics.  We've chosen to use Happy Phonics for our curriculum.  We love it, the girls love it and we're having fun....our girls are indeed happy!!  

 We switch back and forth from their home to ours.  My kids love going to their home because all the toys are new.  Brianne's even joining in the schooling fun with this peg board.

We are using 'Handwriting Without Tears' for their penmanship.  What a great find.  The first time I look at this program I didn't see much of a difference than other programs.  Boy was I wrong...this one is full of fun kinetic, gross motor, moving and dance fun.  The kids 'practice' writing the letter in the air with their bodies first while dancing to fun engaging music.  The music teaches them fun songs that describe the motions they will make while writing on paper.  With the songs stuck in their heads, they then pick up the pencil and write the letters on paper.   Delaney often sings the song under her breath as she writes.  Another fun way to learn.
Liam's also wanting to join in the fun.  

Practicing their 'frog-jump' letters.

More game type fun with Happy Phonics.   Letter recognition was the goal of this game.  I wrote all the letters...one in each cup of the egg carton.  I put a bean inside, they shook it around, opened the egg carton and had to tell me which letter it landed on.

Muffin Tops Match Up....match the capital letter to the lower case letter.   I know this is easy for them, but Christine and I were glad we did it as they had just a few minor confusions with a few letters.

Here, they put themselves in ABC order....Bri, Delaney, Janet, and Liam.

It's definitely more fun learning with a friend and a game!